Film & Fashion

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Fashion industry is using cinema and television as marketing tool to advertise products. Fashion nowadays already become part of the elements and kind of an important one that people expected to see on screen. Especially in fashion films, fashion and designer brands are the lead on the film. Story and fashion naturally combine in the movie, audience can see brands everywhere, the outfit, the shoes, the bags, perfume... it is eye catching. Audience sink in that stunning scene and lifestyle, who wouldn't wish to become the charter in the film? This is how fashion industry promote their brand. The two popular fashion film at all times are the Sex and The City and The Devil Wears Prada. The movie of Sex and The City is like a runway show however it is on screen. All of the outfits they are wearing are stunning however I find that it is not realistic to wear just like that in normal life. It is not pratical most of the time. However, this is the fashion film, you don't need pratical. Only dramatic outfits can catch the audience' eyes.

people can not walk without cloth, celebrities need fashion outfit. Film industry and fashion industry is one union, they influence each other. The red carpet on Cannes Film Festival and Oscar is the prove that fashion and film industry are linked. The red carpet is like a runway show as well as a campaign for all of the high end brands. celebrities are competing with each other secretly, as they are competing the taste of fashion and attention from the audience. celebrities also became the live advertisement for all these brands.
Classis movie always can influence the trend of fashion. Beautiful garment can boost the box office higher. For example in the movie Titanic, the rich changes their outfits four times a day, that gives the costume designer the opportunity to showcase more of their garment in the movie. when the movie present to us on the screen, we can see there are many gorgeous and stunning outfits wearing by the character and indeed these costumes wow us and added a touch of color to the film and fulfill the Aesthetic of the movie. These costumes became part of the classic and will influence audience for a long time.
Another example is the asian movie In The Mood For Love. The movie star Maggie Cheung dressing all kinds of cheongsam in this movie and all these cheongsam dress highlights the charm and eastern feminine of the actress. After the movie out on the screen, audience were crazy of the cheongsam dress and the dress has been on trend for a year.

Many movies are reflection of the current environment and background of the era through the way the actors or actress are dressing, their hair style and make up, the way they behave as well as the setting of the scene. Fashion normally comes from culture. For example, "Ideal" is defined at a particular moment and particular time. In the 80', the ideal man should be a masculinities however nowadays masculinitiesare not ideal anymore. 1950s is the era of epic films and since television come into people's live, television become a threat to films. the film is 1950s also affected by the post cold war. "In the period following WWII when most of the films were idealized with conventional portrayals of men and women, young people wanted new and exciting symbols of rebellion. Hollywood responded to audience demands - the late 1940s and 1950s saw the rise of the anti-hero" (1950s Film History). Therefore, people starts to focus on American films. Many countries are imported films from US and UK, and people in 1950s can have impact from America and British films as they can watch the film via television and cinema.

There are many changes in terms of clothing in the 50s. In This period, fashions are expensive
because the effects after the war. When comparing outfits from 50s movies and in reality, the style is alike:

Women started wearing A line skirts.
- Women changed from traditional shawls to some kind of trendy coats.
- Long knee length coats, with loose sleeves are popular at that time
- Fur coats are popular too but only for the affordable ones.
An imitation fur has been made for the ones who can't buy expensive fur.
- Stiff and starched petticoats are common at that time
- Flowers, stripes, spots, abstract shapes and Leopard prints are also a rage in the fifties.
- Garments were fitted at the waist area and make a girl more feminine look

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

"Costuming relies on the manipulation of 'signifiers' to create character and to assist in storytelling, the

moment a character appears on the screen the audience is fed multiple facts about the period, the time of day, the geographical location and the occupation and social status of the character"(costume and fashion, 2013). I agree with the above statement about the function of costume has on the create the character. costume as a material can be used by the costume designer of the film to decide what style, what color of the cloth or what material of the fabric is the perfect choice for the actor/actress in order to bring the character alive. Spectacle and narrative work together can become ideology. Costume is important in creating the personality, age, background, social statue and fashion taste of the character in the movie. From the outfit that the character's dressing we can tell most of story of the character. Color of the outfit is one significant element when determine the nature and personality of the character.

Black & White:

The color black and white will never outdate. They are the two color that can never go wrong when in any occasion or mix and match with any other color. Therefore, the black and white stand for elegant, decorous simple and eternal. By the white color itself, it also stand for innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection. Therefore, most of the wedding dress is white. By the black color itself, it also stand for mature, mystery, different, grave and sometimes sexy. Sometimes in films, white color is represent the good character (group) and stand for justice and right, on the other hand, the black color is represent the bad character (group) and stand for dark and evil. Here are some outfits and costumes from the films.

Classic black & white dress wearing by Audrey Hepburn in the classic film Breakfast at Tiffany's:

The black & white costume in the film series Harry Potter:

The white ballet skirt wearing by Natalie Portman in the movie Black Swan:

The black and white outfit wearing by Kate Winslet in the classic film Titanic:

The White dress wearing by Marilyn Monroe in the classic film Seven Year Inch:

Red:Red it is associated with energy, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Women wearing red costume in the film will be outstanding in the scene. The red garment can reveal the feminine of the character in the movie.

Monday, 27 January 2014

Fashion and movie have an inalienable relationship. Science fiction movie is one kind of movies that all the characters in the movie are dressing quit avant-garde. Science fiction movies different from other movies are more unrealistic, they are the outcome from people's fantasy and vision of the future. In order to create a background that suit audience's fantasy, the costumes in the Sci-Fi movie must be dramatic, futuristic and imaginative. In addition, some of these costume are also integrate with technologies such as LED lights and luminous fabrics. Some of the fashion Sci-Fi movies are The Fifth Element, The Hunger Games, Blade Runner and The Matrix. The outfits or the elements that the characters are wearing are becoming the fashion flag once the movies on the screen.

Movies and story lines are more stand out by choosing the right costume for the character, however, costumes (costume designer) in the movie can influence fashion, Giorgio Armani is one example. he has designed many costumes for many films such as The Untouchables, Gattaca, The Tuxedo and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Many fashion designers getting inspirations from Sci-Fi movies. Some examples are Alexander Wang and Lanvin.